The Alouettes finished the regular season with a 22-20 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday at Percival-Molson Stadium. Beyond that result, the two teams had to prepare for a much more important next meeting, where they will meet again in the Eastern semifinals on November 4 in Montreal.
Here are 21 notes that appear in the notebook in the margins of this next part:
- With a fifth straight win, the Alouettes finished the regular season with an 11-7 record, their best performance since 2012.
- Head coach Jason Maas’ team scored 442 points this season and instead gave up 392 to their opponents.
- The Alouettes quickly reminded the Tiger-Cats that they were home champions on Saturday when Marc-Antoine Dequoy caused a fumble on the opponent’s punt return on the first play of the game. It was Tyson-Otis Copeland who won the ball back. Two plays later, Montreal scored a touchdown on a pass from Cody Fajardo to Tyson Philpot.
- Fajardo will be used in the first quarter and will be the Alouettes’ starting quarterback in the Eastern semifinals.
Photo Martin Chevalier
- Bo Levi Mitchell was a two-time Gray Cup winner with the Calgary Stampeders in 2014 and 2018 and has experience at quarterback for the Tiger-Cats. In Saturday’s game, he didn’t always get support from his receivers. Mitchell completed five of his 10 pass attempts for a 53-yard gain.
- Should we worry about kicker David Côté? After recovering from an injury, the Quebecer resumed his place in the Montreal squad on Saturday. In that game he made field goals from 23 and 37 yards and first missed a punt from 45 yards. The Tiger-Cats also took advantage of the opportunity to return the ball 122 yards for a touchdown. Côté also missed a 50-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. We are talking about a performance of 39 out of 52, which corresponds to a success rate of 75% this season.
Photo Martin Chevalier
- James Letcher Jr., nicknamed the “Human Joystick,” stood out again with a 99-yard punt return for a touchdown.
- Tim White, who plays as a pass receiver, received the title of MVP of the Tiger-Cats for the 2023 season. Less visible on Saturday, he will be watched in the Eastern semifinals by forming a combination with the quarterback – fullback Bo Levi Mitchell.
- Pass receiver Austin Mack, the Alouettes’ MVP for the 2023 season, would obviously stay quiet in this final game of the season. He finished the regular season with 78 receptions and 1,154 total yards.
- Among the Alouettes’ other receivers, Canadian Tyson Philpot appears to be in top form heading into the playoffs.
Photo Martin Chevalier
- Weather conditions are expected to be significantly less friendly next weekend during the Eastern semifinals. A game in the rain? Perhaps.
- Hamilton is the host city for the Gray Cup final on Sunday November 19th. It goes without saying that the Tiger-Cats have extra motivation ahead of their playoff run.
- After Jeshrun Atwi made the move in Ottawa on September 30th, it was Cole Spieker who made a brilliant kick behind the line of scrimmage on a second down and long. Could a sequence like this be seen again in the Eastern semifinals? We never know…
- When he returned to the game for this final game of the Alouettes’ regular season, running back William Stanback carried the ball seven times for a 48-yard gain. However, at the end of the first quarter he missed the oval object.
Photo Martin Chevalier
- Veteran Simoni Lawrence, who wears number 21, remains a very important defensive player for the Ti-Cats.
- Veteran defensive lineman Almondo Sewell, who missed the final game of the regular season, will logically return to the Alouettes on November 4th for the Eastern semifinals.
- Before returning to play on Saturday, the Alouettes’ Tyrell Richards had not seen action since Aug. 24.
- After wearing the Alouettes colors earlier this season, Montrealer Hergy Malaya is now in the Tiger-Cats camp.
- Cody Fajardo is the linchpin of the Alouettes’ offense, but backup quarterback Caleb Evans remains one to keep an eye on in third-down and one-yard situations.
- Before Saturday’s game, the Alouettes had already won twice in as many games in Hamilton earlier this season. Wins 38 to 12 and 27 to 14.
- The winners of the next duel between the Alouettes and the Tiger-Cats will then face the Argonauts in the Eastern final in Toronto on Saturday, November 11th. The Argos are unbeaten in nine home games this season.